


To the ends of the earth (swimming in azure)

by strawberry_blue



Category: ONF (Band)
Genre: Ace hyojin, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Dreams and Nightmares, Dungeons and Dragons based, Fate & Destiny, Gen, HyoJ relationship is open to interpretation, HyoJ-centric, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Is this not all really one big fetch quest, Laun is there but only kinda sorta, Magic, Major Character Injury, Mentioned Other K-pop Artist(s), Prophetic Dreams, Seungjun not Seungjoon i was forced, Violence, accidental arson, actual dragons!, but also love friendship and self-acceptance, but they're all minor characters, tags may change as updated, that's important later on i swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26934676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberry_blue/pseuds/strawberry_blue
Summary: The revelry of the tavern seemed to dull around them, creating a silent sphere of shadows where they hid in the corner of the garden."This is our only chance. Will you come with me?""Of course. It's us against the world, right?"Six young adventurers are sent on a quest to find their destiny, and realise that the hand of fate is not as helpful as one may think.
Relationships: Kim Hyojin & Lee Seungjoon | J-Us
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27





	1. A Path is Opened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which new beginnings are begun, new friendships are formed, and new blades cross at odds.

Seungjun had always longed for more. More than the small village he'd been born in, more than this town where everyone knew everyone else, more than the daily routine. He'd heard stories of magic, of monsters, of tragedy and glory. He knew there had to be something out there waiting for him, if only he could get to it. That was why; when Hyojin had asked him that fateful night, his eyes sparkling with a fervour Seungjun had never seen before, he couldn't say no. They had taken each other's hands and ran off into the night, hoping the forest would forge them a path to their destiny. 

He remembered that night now, the memory somehow seeming both clear as day and as if it were a million years ago. He sat up slowly, back aching from the stony river bank he had been lying on. In the end, it had turned out adventure wasn't all it was cracked up to be.  
"Hyojinnie," he called out, voice crackly and croaky as he stretched. "Daylight's breaking, we need to get moving if we don't want another night of this." 

His reflection rippled as he knelt by the river, scooping out some water to wash his face. It did depressingly little to remove the grime that had appeared since they last stopped in a town. As he looked into the water he couldn't help but wonder; where had that adventurous spirit from just a few years ago gone? 

Another reflection joined his in the rippling water, one with red hair and a bemused smile.  
"Hey narcissus, what happened to needing to get moving? If you're done staring at yourself you can come help me pack up." Hyojin raised an eyebrow, extending a hand to pull Seungjun up from the ground. 

It took another prompt of 'come on, destiny still awaits us,' for him to take it, but eventually he stood and walked over to where their campfire smouldered from the night before. He stamped out the last embers and started to roll up Hyojin's bedspread for him. They could only afford one since money was always tight, and Seungjun preferred the ground to that scratchy blanket anyway. It was bread and honey for breakfast, as per the routine, then consult the map, shove all their stuff into Seungjun's bag, and start out on the road. It was like this almost every day, but Seungjun found he didn't mind so much as long as he was with Hyojin. 

They had been travelling on the main roads these days, heading towards a citadel to find work. They had spent a few years out 'adventuring' like this now, and were starting to accept the reality that perhaps fate had nothing in store for them. It was a little embarrassing that it took them so long to realise, but there wasn't some greater purpose out there for everyone; the call to adventure was little more than a fantasy to most. The dirt roads to civilization had started to feel familiar underfoot, comforting even. Hyojin played a tune on his ocarina as they walked, and Seungjun occasionally made up some stupid little dance or other to make him laugh and throw him off. It was nice. 

The day might have continued on like that, long and empty as it was. But as they trekked along the path at the edge of some forest or another, they found their destination abruptly changed. 

A soft "Oh." escaped Seungjun’s lips as a vibrant green bolt of lightning shot across a cloudless sky, accompanied by a deafening rumble of thunder. It was all he could say as he watched the lightning fork and strike somewhere in the middle of the forest. Hyojin didn't need words. All it took was a glance for confirmation before he grabbed Seungjun’s hand, and the two broke into a dead sprint into the trees, where they thought the bolt had hit.

There was no clear cut path, and they tripped over branches and ditches as they ran, trying to find the right direction. Seungjun picked up what sounded like some kind of scream on the wind, and yanked Hyojin towards it. Fuelled by some strange sense of urgency, they pushed themselves through the trees with as much speed as they could muster.

They stumbled out into a clearing, weapons drawn and hearts beating out of their chests. But the scene that met their eyes was nothing even close to what they had imagined. There was no monster, no evil spirit of the woods terrifying some innocent travellers with its magic, no danger at all. Instead, a small camp had been set up, not dissimilar to their own from that morning. Seungjun counted four bedspreads beneath the shoddily constructed cover, the owners of which had yet to notice the new arrivals. Three of them were dancing wildly around the fourth, who was looking increasingly irate as time went on. 

"You're so boring Jaeyoung," whined the tallest of the bunch, “Why won’t you just celebrate with us, you don’t have to be so sullen all the time.” 

“Because _I’d_ rather not embarrass myself in front of total strangers,” the apparently ever-sullen Jaeyoung responded with a deep sigh. He illustrated his point with a vague gesture in the direction of Hyojin and Seungjun, who awkwardly shuffled a few steps closer together now that attention had been drawn to them. The tall one’s gaze followed the direction of Jaeyoung’s arm, and he stopped dead as he locked eyes with Seungjun. All three of the dancing maniacs had now noticed their observers, and the two parties faced each other in an uncomfortable silence. 

Seungjun was the first to break it. He sheathed his sword, having noticed the strangers eyeing the blade warily, and stepped forward with the kindest smile he could manage.  
“We’re sorry for intruding. We’re not here to attack you, we had our weapons drawn because-”

“Because we thought someone was in danger here.” Hyojin took over, following Seungjun’s example and returning his daggers to their covers. “There was some kind of lightning strike, and we thought we heard someone screaming too, so we ran over here to help.” 

Seungjun nodded enthusiastically, relieved that Hyojin had sensed his underlying uncomfortability. The other group visibly relaxed as Hyojin mentioned the lightning strike, and the shortest of them even started giggling to himself. 

“Well, the lightning strike we can explain,” the tall one said with a grin, pushing forward the very uncomfortable looking adventurer next to him. “Our dear Changyoon here is a sorcerer of the highest calibre, and what you saw was one of his incredible spells. That’s what we were celebrating just now.”

“I’m a wizard, not a sorcerer. And I’m not that good. But, um, hi.” Changyoon gave a small wave, acutely aware that he was the only person present who had been formally introduced. The awkwardness in the air was tangible, and Seungjun thought he might die if he had to endure another second of it. Luckily, before he had the chance to open his mouth and say something stupid or insensitive, the tall one interjected with something worse than anything Seungjun could have come up with. 

“Wow… now that I think about it, you guys look _awful_. I’m Minkyun, by the way,” he said with a proud smile, offering a hand for someone to shake. Hyojin and Seungjun stared at the outstretched hand in shocked silence, unsure of how they were supposed to react. They dissolved into laughter as they caught each other’s eyes, any anger they might have felt destroyed by the sheer ridiculousness of it all. 

“Hyojin. And that’s Seungjun.” the redhead took the outstretched hand, and some intangible knot was tied between the two groups. Seungjun felt it, and as his eyes happened to lock with Changyoon’s, he was certain that the wizard had felt it too. In fact, it was Changyoon who extended the invitation for them to stay for a meal that evening, and Changyoon who walked them through a quickfire round of introductions; through which they were formally introduced to Jaeyoung and they learned that the last of the dancing maniacs was named Yuto. Seungjun, through a slip of the tongue, also learned that nobody except Minkyun was particularly appreciative of being referred to as a dancing maniac. Who would have thought.

While Hyojin was still a little on edge, Seungjun had already settled into the group. It was like he had been friends with them all his whole life, slinging his bag down with a wink and laughing with the others as he helped set up a fire pit. He wasn’t quite sure if he was jealous of how easily his friend adapted and fit in with new people, or if he thought it foolish and was glad he didn’t have the same affinity for trusting strangers. Either way, he figured it wasn’t worth agonising over, so he swallowed his apprehension and followed Seungjun to the centre of the little camp, where the blonde had already started excitedly sharing stories from their travels. 

“-And then the goblin tried to take a bite out of my sword! I mean, I knew they were horrid little things, but Vell? That’s my baby, how dare they!” Seungjun cradled the blade in his arms, earning a laugh from those who had been paying attention. Of those who hadn’t, there were only two. Jaeyoung was resting a little further away from the group, busying himself on his own and seemingly doing his best to ignore all the festivities. And there was Yuto, who was sitting in the circle around the fire pit with everyone else, but who seemed distant, like his mind was somewhere far away. Hyojin’s thoughts were confirmed as Yuto stood suddenly, a strange vacant look in his eyes.

“You two are staying to eat, right? We won’t have enough food for everyone to be comfortable, I’ll go and find something.” He announced, picking up a sturdy-looking wooden bow. 

“Oh, I’ll come with you!” Seungjun grinned, starting to move towards his bag to fish out a quiver of arrows.

“Yeah, I’ll pass. I’m fine on my own thanks.” Yuto cut him off coldly, turning towards the forest before Seungjun could even attempt to say anything more. Hyojin shot a comforting glance at his friend seeing the confused and hurt look in his eyes, while Minkyun just sighed despairingly. 

“Don’t take it personally, he’s always like that. Always wants to do everything on his own.” He offered an explanation, pausing to try to find the best way of putting it into words. “It’s sort of like… I know he’s one of us, part of the group, but it’s like he’s trying to separate himself? I don’t know, it doesn’t make sense.” 

Seungjun nodded in understanding, eyes trained on the younger boy until he vanished from sight.  
“Are you sure he’ll be safe? The forest is no place to be alone.” 

“Yeah, he knows it well. Besides, I’ll just send Laun a little ways behind him and make sure.”

“Laun?” Seungjun tilted his head in question. He wasn’t the best at remembering names, but he knew they hadn’t been introduced to a Laun. 

As he asked the question, a large black beast came slinking out from behind the trees. It looked about the same as a regular wildcat, save for the brilliant emerald green eyes, and similarly green coloured scaly wings. Hyojin and Seungjun both reached for their weapons in fear, but Minkyun simply laughed and told them to relax. 

“This is Laun, my familiar.” He smiled brightly, ruffling the fur behind its ears. “He’s so sweet, and the way he acts; honestly, sometimes I almost think he’s secretly a human!”

The cat-dragon chirruped, nuzzling into Minkyun’s hand, and Seungjun couldn’t help but coo at the sight. He reached out a tentative hand and, after an enthusiastic nod of approval from Minkyun, buried it into the soft fur in front of him. Laun, for his part, seemed overjoyed just to meet new people that weren’t enemies, and settled his front paws on Seungjun’s lap. 

“He’s purring, Hyojin, he’s purring,” Seungjun said, barely attempting to restrain the excitement bubbling in his voice. Hyojin hummed in approval, laughing softly as he saw his friend’s eyes light up. 

Changyoon soon decided it was time to light the fire, and did so with a simple flick of his wrist. The ember that appeared with the motion blossomed into a full flame before it had even reached the first log. Hyojin and Seungjun stared at the raging fire like they’d just seen a ghost, having been looking at a somewhat sad pile of dry logs just moments before. With everything they’d had to come to terms with so quickly, they’d almost forgotten they were in the presence of a real live wizard, one who used actual real magic. Changyoon seemed to notice their fascination and laughed sheepishly, cheeks flushing rosy red with embarrassment. 

“It looks a lot flashier than it is, trust me. I’m just doing it now so that it’ll die down enough to cook by the time Yuto gets back. Spell’s not actually good for a lot other than-”

“Yeah, about that,” Minkyun interjected, tugging on Changyoon’s sleeve to get his attention. He turned to where Minkyun was now pointing to see a breathless and disheveled Yuto sprinting through the trees towards them. Nobody got anywhere close to asking why he was back so soon before a deafening roar cut them all off. It sent echoes ringing through the trees and shocked them all into a fighting stance; even Jaeyoung, who now rejoined the rest of the group as Yuto ran towards them. 

“Looks like those two idiots weren't the only thing that lightning strike of yours attracted Yoon,” Yuto shouted, gesturing behind him as he ran into the clearing. Another roar followed, and they all turned to stare behind Yuto as a large, red, scaled foot stepped through the trees. Seungjun didn’t have time to be offended by the comment as his eyes moved upwards and he discovered the identity of the beast. 

“DRAGON!” He yelled as loud as he could, drawing his sword and running for cover in the trees. The rest followed suit, arming themselves with whatever they could grab first and moving to get out of the way. 

“Yuto! Get over here unless you want to become that thing’s next fried snack!” he hissed, seeing that Yuto was the only one who had made no effort to hide. 

“Stay out of this. I can handle it by myself,” Yuto spat, wishing this bratty blonde stranger would just _mind his own business._ He rolled out of the way as the beast brought down a claw, avoiding being snared by a hair’s breadth. He nocked an arrow and shifted his full attention to finding a target, quick eyes scanning for any weaknesses. There were none. Of course there were none, it was a dragon, what had he been expecting? He drew in a sharp breath as he drew back the bow, shooting an arrow at what he hoped was between the scales before jumping a few steps back to avoid a blast of flame from the dragon’s mouth. The arrow hit its mark, but simply clinked off the thick armoured scales, falling weakly to the ground.

The same fate met his next shot, and the next, and the one after that. And while Yuto was agile, dodging the thrashing motions of a beast like this was tiring. Each attack seemed more useless than the last, and he was running out of arrows faster than he’d care to admit. He felt fear rising in his chest, and it was not a welcome feeling. He could do this himself, he had to. There had to be some solution, some way out of this. There was no way that he couldn’t- oh.  
He was snapped out of the circles he was running in his head, finding himself making direct eye contact with Seungjun. The blonde’s gaze burned, and once he was sure he had Yuto’s attention he moved it towards the dragon. Yuto couldn’t help but follow. And with the strange clarity that had suddenly been instilled in him, it didn’t take long to find what Seungjun had been looking at. 

A gash. Right by its chin, several scales were missing, leaving a perfect opening to attack. One more glance at Seungjun, and a slight nod from the elder confirmed that they had been thinking the same thing. It seemed Jaeyoung had had the same idea, as he and Seungjun were both already sprinting from their positions behind the trees. Yuto dove across the clearing, picking up a short spear and then finding as much cover as possible. He threw it with as much strength and accuracy as he could manage, waiting with baited breath to see how this would play out. It found its target, the spearhead burying itself deep in the dragon’s skin. It reared its head, writhing in pain, just as Seungjun and Jaeyoung reached their positions. Jaeyoung knelt as Seungjun rushed towards him, using all his strength to push Seungjun up into the air as he jumped. 

For a short moment, Seungjun felt like he was flying. But there was no time to enjoy it, and he latched onto the shaft of the spear, forcing it downwards. He silently thanked the gods that the others had understood his plan as he hung from the spear, his weight slowly opening the gash further. 

Behind the trees, meanwhile, Minkyun simply watched in awe.  
“He worked in a team… blondie made him work as a team…” he muttered to himself, a sort of dazed smile appearing on his face, which Hyojin was quick to erase with a slap. 

“Yeah, he does that to people. And unless you want that to be the last thing he ever does, now I’m doing it to you.” He said as he pulled out his daggers, a plan already formulating in his mind. “Grab that rope there, try and get its head to the floor. Get Jaeyoung to help you, he looks strong enough to hold it down. When you’ve done that, start descaling this thing as fast as you can.” 

Minkyun nodded and ran off to get the rope with Laun bounding behind him, presumably wanting to help hold it down. He would have time to think about how Laun understood his plan later, for now the dragon was of utmost importance. He handed a dagger to Changyoon and told him to just copy what he was doing if he wanted to live. 

The two ran toward the dragon and started taking off as many scales as they could, digging the blade under the base of each one and twisting it until it came off. It was a surprisingly quick process, and by the time Minkyun managed to join them they had created a decent line of weakness down one side of its body. 

“I don’t get how this helps, what is this for?” Changyoon asked in confusion, before yelping as he was dragged to the end of the line by Hyojin.

“It’s for you, obviously. That little fire spell from earlier isn’t so useless after all.” 

“Fire? But it’s a dragon-”

“Raw flesh is still raw flesh, Changyoon.” Hyojin reminded him, shoving him towards the body of the dragon before leaving him and running to the tail. Changyoon quickly discovered that Hyojin was correct, and that his simple fire-lighting spell had begun to burn this beast alive. It began to thrash around, straining against the rope, but failing to break the restraint. It was clear that it wouldn’t last much longer though, and Changyoon felt his heartbeat quicken as he came to this realisation. 

“I still don’t get it,” he stuttered, “How is this supposed to kill it quick enough?”

“It’s not!” Hyojin shouted over the sound of the dragon screeching as it tried to free itself, “We’re just-” 

“Distracting it.” Seungjun finished as the creature went silent, and Changyoon looked over to see a bloodied Seungjun and Yuto holding the hilt of Vell together, the blade of which was currently sunk deep into the skull of the beast. Hyojin scrambled up onto its back, horribly dishevelled but grinning nonetheless. He clambered over to the skull and helped the two boys pull the blade from where it was buried, tossing the black blood covered sword aside and pulling Seungjun into a hug. 

“You’re gonna have weird black and green hair for a week now,” he laughed, wrapping his arms around his friend and helping him stay upright. 

“Weird or not, at least I’ll be alive to see what it looks like, yeah?” Seungjun breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing and letting Hyojin take his weight. Everyone else either sank to the floor or simply lay on whichever part of the dragon they had been standing on, too fatigued to even think of moving for a while. Jaeyoung and Minkyun even fell asleep with Laun curled up next to them, all three having used all their strength to keep the dragon restrained. 

Yuto was the first to stir nearly an hour later. He probably could have done with more rest, but he dragged himself up from the ground anyway. There was something more important to do than sleep. He gathered up all the fallen arrows he could find, dropping them back into the quiver at his hip for reassurance. He had been trying to move quietly, but it seemed the noise of him fiddling with his bowstring had woken Seungjun. 

“Light sleeper are you?” Yuto scoffed, continuing about his business in the hope that Seungjun would leave him alone.

“Not really.” Seungjun shrugged, sitting up and jumping down from the top of the dragon where he and Hyojin had been laying. He watched Yuto gather his things, mildly bemused by his attempt at secrecy. He wasn’t doing anything in particular, just sitting and watching, but to Yuto his stare was cold and unwavering. It was unnerving, that someone who looked so small and weak had such a burning gaze. He tried his best to ignore it, but he could feel Seungjun’s eyes on his skin even when he turned his back. 

“What, what do you want?” He asked desperately, turning back around to face him. A look of confusion flashed briefly across Seungjun’s face, replaced just as soon as it had appeared by a warm friendly smile. 

“Nothing. But you can’t keep an entire dragon’s hoard all for yourself you know. Why don’t you wake up the others too, we’ll all go see if there’s anything worth taking?” And with that he turned around to go and do just that, leaving Yuto to wonder if Seungjun was magic and a mind reader or if he was just really obvious about his plans. 

Before long everyone had been roused and gathered together, though some had taken a little more convincing than others. But now even Hyojin stood ready to go, or as ready as any of them could be. There was some sort of unspoken agreement between them all to not mention how unruly they all looked; and to avert their eyes from the black and green brain juice still staining Seungjun and Yuto’s clothes, they knew well enough for themselves how disgusting it looked. With this unofficial law laid down they marched into the forest, leaving Laun to defend the camp.

Perhaps it would have taken them longer to find the cave that housed the dragon’s hoard had it not destroyed every tree in its path to follow Yuto. Luckily for them, that was exactly what it had done, and they all felt their fatigue melt away as they ran through the large open cave system. It seemed even the walls of the cave were part of the hoard, lined with pretty geodes and sparkling crystal formations. They broke off anything they found particularly attractive and pocketed it all, not bothering to deliberate over what was to keep and what was to sell. 

The crystal lined walls paled in comparison to the blinding gold sheen of the piles of riches in the main cavern. Gold coins and sparkling jewels as far as the eye could see, glittering brightly despite the very small amount of natural light that actually seeped through into the space. Any rational thought was abandoned and they ran to dive into the gold as though it were a towering pile of autumn leaves. But their shouts of joy quickly turned to distress as the handfuls of coins they attempted to pick up simply melted in their hands. 

“It’s… It’s fake, it’s all fake, we came here for nothing!” Seungjun whined, throwing himself back into what was swiftly becoming a puddle of melted gold.

“Not fake. Cursed.” Changyoon corrected him, dipping his fingers into the puddle and examining the barely visible tendrils of purple smoke that slowly rose into the air from his coated fingers. 

“Fake or cursed, what does it matter? We can’t put it to any decent use.” Seungjun snapped, gold dripping from his hair as he sat up. 

“Maybe,” Hyojin spoke up, holding up a perfectly whole gold coin between the folds of his cloak, “Or maybe there is some kind of way around this. It melts when we touch it, right? So all we have to do is, well, not touch it.”

Yuto didn’t care. He slipped away quietly, leaving the group to their schemes. There had to be at least one thing in this cave that wasn’t cursed. He’d find it, all on his own, and that’d make up for having to be helped with the dragon earlier, right? He wandered through a lustrous maze, clambering over mountainous piles of gold that melted underfoot. His search felt fruitless, but some gut instinct was drawing him to one back corner of the cavern. It was in this back corner that he found a giant boulder covering some kind of hole. He strained against it, pushing with all his strength, but to no avail. The damned thing didn’t even move an inch. As he searched around for something, anything, to use as leverage, he caught sight of the others back where he had left them. 

They were all working together to scoop coins into leather pouches, careful not to actually touch them with anything but the material. Something about seeing them all working as a team, laughing and chatting together, sent a pang of guilt through Yuto’s chest. So he swallowed his pride and called out to them. 

“Hey guys, can I get some help over here?”

It took all of their combined strength - though most of that strength came from Jaeyoung - to move the boulder; and they all peeked into the little hidden room once it was revealed, filled with curiosity. What awaited them inside seemed remarkably understated at first glance. A simple pedestal with a large, rusted key resting on top. Seungjun was quick to voice his disappointment, but was shut down by Hyojin as Yuto started to walk towards the key. He felt drawn towards it by some strange force, almost as though he was being pulled on the end of a rope. 

The key began to glow as he approached it, shining brighter and brighter until it illuminated the entire room as it touched his skin. He covered his eyes as he wrenched it from the pedestal, unable to bear the blazing light. A soon as the key was fully moved from its place the light disappeared, but by no means was the room returned to darkness. The walls that had been bare moments before were now covered entirely in glowing azure script. One particular section took centre stage, words in an ancient script that was now shifting, changing itself to be readable in their common tongue. Changyoon stepped forward, being the most well-read of them all. 

_You who have discovered this scripture,  
And stand now where the gods of centuries past once stood,  
It is here that your task is revealed.  
With this first key the path is opened,  
And with its light you will be guided to find the remaining six.  
When all seven keys are brought together,  
The seal of Pandora’s Box will be broken,  
And the gate to the new world will appear. _

They stood in silence for a minute, struggling to take in everything they had just heard. Jaeyoung was the first to break it, leaning against a wall with a deep sigh. 

“So does anyone have any clue as to what the fuck any of that meant?” He asked, hands on his temples, as though that would ease the confusion. He was met with silence, and a shrug from those who could offer any answer at all. Yuto still held the key with a white knuckled grip, feeling like if he let go then he would wake up and all of this would be some fantastical dream.

“There’s some sort of map over here,” Seungjun pointed out. Not quite an explanation, but it drew everyone’s interest nonetheless. They all crowded around the wall with the map, looking to see if there were places they recognised on it. 

“Wait,” Minkyun interjected, running back over to the inscription Changyoon had read out earlier, “This thing said there were six more keys, right? Well there’s… there’s six of us, isn’t there?” 

The question hung in the air for a moment, suggesting something none of them could consider quite so readily. But as Seungjun looked up from the floor, he felt something he hadn’t felt in years, saw something in the eyes of these strangers that he’d only seen once before. He looked over to Hyojin, and sure enough, there it was. That same sparkling fervour he’d had so many years ago, the burning passion that had spurred them to adventure in the first place. Only this time, they all felt it. This time, they wouldn’t let the spark burn out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that was a beast of a first chapter- if you made it all the way here, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! If you did enjoy it please consider leaving kudos or comments it's a huge motivator for me- 
> 
> I will update this as frequently as I can, but I'll be working on some spooky month content first I think so stay tuned for that ☆～（ゝ。∂）
> 
> Big thank you to the rat gc for making me start writing again, and for being pretty much the entire reason this exists at all,,, mwah ily all


	2. A Vision In Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yuto finds himself, Seungjun finds someone else, and the third time's a charm.

They all rose early the next morning. There were plans to be enacted, supplies to be prepared, and clothes to be cleaned. Even with the aid of a magically enhanced sponge, Seungjun’s hair took on a strange dark green tint.

“It’ll fade out, it always does. You’ll get over it.” was Hyojin’s only response to his whining. 

Yuto had taken a length of twine and turned the key into a kind of necklace, wanting to keep it close to him. It hung now around his neck with a faint blue glow, all of the rust magically scrubbed away to reveal an alluring silver sheen. It quickly became a motivator for the group as they ran back and forth between the cavern and the camp until high noon. Jobs were shared out fairly easily, and things moved smoothly with the two new additions to the party. 

Changyoon and Hyojin were immediately dubbed the smartest and, despite their adamant protest, were assigned to divide the cursed money into cuts that they could offer each merchant. This also came with the responsibility of deciding what they needed to buy in the first place. After reminding Minkyun that he couldn’t grow potted plants if they were constantly traveling, and a lengthy argument about how many magic books were reasonable to bring with you at any one time, they settled on some kind of compromise. They realised they couldn’t cheat every single merchant in the city, so Jaeyoung turned his discerning eye to the crystals they had collected to see what was worth keeping and what they could sell for a decent price. Minkyun sat with him, picking out the rare crystal chunk that had an elemental core sealed inside it that could later be used to make catalysts. Yuto’s precision and artistic ability made him the perfect candidate to transcribe the map from the cave wall onto a sheet of parchment, with artificial ink coaxed from crushed moss by Minkyun. And Seungjun was given the seemingly useless task of removing as many scales as he could from the body of the dragon, and ensuring that they remained as whole as possible. He didn’t get it, but Minkyun and Changyoon assured him it’d be well worth it eventually. 

Each dragon scale was the same, blood red with a strangely captivating iridescent sheen. Teardrop shaped, save for what should have been a pointed tip, but was instead flattened off and lined with toxic barbs that he had to be careful to avoid. He dug a serrated knife under the tip of the scale, and shimmied it back and forth until it simply popped off and fell to the floor by his feet. The task was mundane and repetitive, and Seungjun’s natural high energy made it difficult to concentrate. He did as much as he could, and amassed a pile that rose to around calf height, before the boredom overwhelmed him. 

_No one else is back yet…_ he thought to himself, curling up on the dusty floor, eyes fluttering in the midday heat. _I’ve done enough anyway, they won’t mind if i sleep for just a bit…_

He found himself in a swirling dreamscape that shifted and changed if he tried to focus too much on any one thing. Tendrils of purple mist curled around him, making him giggle as they brushed past his cheek. They darted away just as quickly as they came close, diving away behind the trees of the forest he now appeared to be in. He blinked in surprise, and as he opened his eyes a path appeared where before there had been none. He took a step towards it and was suddenly overwhelmed with a painful sensation, as though the breath had been ripped from his lungs. Each gasp as he attempted to draw in air took him further from the peaceful misty forest, locations appearing and whirling away again at a dizzying pace; until eventually he fell to his knees in front of a dazzling natural pool. The turquoise water shone just a little brighter than it should have, and even the grass seemed to have an unnatural glow in this strange glade. Seungjun dug his hands into the earth and inhaled the sweetest breath of air he’d ever taken. 

“It took you quite a while to find me.” A woman’s voice echoed in his ears. “You really ought to be prompt with these things, we haven’t much time and you’re only cutting it shorter.”

He managed to raise his head, though still dizzy, and take in what lay in front of him. On the far side of the pool a throne of lilies floated on the water, and on it sat the most beautiful woman Seungjun had ever seen. Her skin and hair was of a translucent glittering azure colour, and she wore watery robes to match. They draped over her skin in endless folds of material, though it was near impossible to differentiate the two. Her feet were submerged in the water, but the more Seungjun looked the more it felt like her feet became the water. Her eyes had no pupils, nor irises. Instead they were pure white, glistening like molded porcelain. A wise smile played on her lips, and as Seungjun stared in awe she raised a hand, beckoning for him to come closer. 

He stepped out onto the water, the only indication that it wasn’t solid ground being the ripples that spread from each step. He looked at his feet as he walked, vaguely aware that what he was doing shouldn’t be possible. What was more curious, though, was his reflection in the water’s surface. He looked well-rested, more so than he’d been in a while; and his coveted blonde hair was now jet black, with a suspicious red patch that reminded him too much of Hyojin’s hair. When he reached the woman after what felt like forever his own lily-pad chair rose from beneath the water. He took his seat. 

“I am not myself. Who have you made me?” He asked earnestly, unphased by the unnatural tone that took over his voice. 

“Only what you will become.” 

“Why would you show me that which I am not supposed to see?”

“The same reason you speak now with a voice that is not your own. This is how our realities have chosen to merge. We have more important things to discuss, I have guidance to offer you.” 

“Then I don’t want your guidance. I want my own reality, let me go back. What are you, some kind of fae? Hyojin told me never to make deals where I don’t know all the terms, and faeries make all those tricksy deals offering things people aren’t s’posed to know.” Seungjun frowned. 

The lady narrowed her blind eyes, and the silence that hung in the air was so cold that the edges of the pond began to frost over. Seungjun shivered but held fast, meeting her gaze with a stare as fiery as her silence was frigid.

“Then so be it. But you cannot escape what must be done, regardless of what stubbornness reigns over your heart.” She hissed, her voice echoing at different tones, sounding more like three voices talking at once now that the strange seal had been broken. She drew a length of string from her pocket, and abruptly ripped it in two. No sooner had the string broken than the water ceased to be solid ground, and Seungjun found himself plunged beneath the surface. The water was bone-chillingly cold, and it seeped through his skin and into his lungs. It numbed his body, burned his eyes, slowed everything down a hundred times. He swam with all the strength he could find, but every attempt to push himself to the surface dragged him further into the deep. 

A hand appeared under the water, reaching towards him. He took it, and was wrenched upwards, gasping for breath as he broke the surface. Gone was the glittering glade, and the ethereal blue lady that held power over it. He sat up, moving to brush dust from his shoulder only to find that none had stuck, and instead his clothes were soaked through. Four worried faces stared down at him, and all he could do in response to their silent queries was spit out a mouthful of lake water. 

“You alright?” Hyojin asked, kneeling down next to him and placing an arm around his shoulders. His other hand was interlocked with Seungjun’s own, drenched all the way up to his elbow, almost as though he’d plunged it into water. Seungjun made note of that before turning his attention away, looking up at Hyojin to answer his question. 

“I’m good, was just a freakish nightmare,” He reassured the elder, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. The silence that fell was not a comfortable one. It hung thick in the air, and no one knew how to break it without making it worse. Changyoon and Minkyun shared a cautionary glance before slipping away together to the fire. Yuto lost interest as he was waved away by Jaeyoung, who hadn’t been there in the first place. Hyojin stayed, unsettled by what had happened. He felt there was something more at play here than a simple nightmare, and it wasn’t a welcome thought. 

“Hyojin, really, I’m fine. Let’s go and join the others, we need lunch.” Seungjun insisted, worried at the crack in his friend’s usually cool and collected demeanor. 

“If it was just a dream then why… when I touched you…” Hyojin said quietly, holding up his drenched arm for Seungjun to see. “That’s not a dream, Junnie. That’s magic. You don’t _have_ magic.”

“We’ll ask Changyoon if we can look through his books later, alright? See if there’s anything about dream magic in there,” Seungjun sighed. He’d come to the same conclusion as Hyojin, but it felt wrong putting the words out in the open; even as a whispered secret between the two of them. 

They rejoined the others, sitting close to the fire to dry their clothes, wondering how there would be enough food for all seven of them. Jaeyoung had taken an axe to the dragon, providing a hearty meal for everyone. Laun munched happily on his food while everyone else waited for theirs to cook, staring hungrily at their steaks as they watched them sizzling.

“I wish I could eat raw meat, then I wouldn’t have to sit here and wait for so long,” Minkyun whined, face dangerously close to the fire as he leant forward to be at eye level with the cooking meat.

“Technically you could,” Changyoon grabbed Minkyun’s collar, pulling him away from the fire, “It just might give you food poisoning.”

“He looks like he’s enjoying it so much though! Life’d be so much simpler if I was just a cat.”

“God _damn_ Kyun, can you not go five minutes without complaining?” Jaeyoung interjected, “Here, it’s ready. You can have the first lot. Stuff your face, it’ll help you shut up for thirty seconds.” He held out a wooden bowl full of food, which Minkyun took without a second thought. 

“You know you love me Jae,” Minkyun sang, batting his eyelashes endearingly at an increasingly irate looking Jaeyoung. 

They all ate their share, with most everyone coming back for seconds and even thirds. Hyojin was the only one who managed a fourth portion, much to the amazement of everyone but Seungjun, who had long since gotten used to the superhuman amount of food the redhead could consume. More plans were discussed over this lunch, and jobs for the evening soon doled out. Jaeyoung volunteered to do the washing up, taking the opportunity to be as far away from everyone else as possible. Once he trekked away to the river it didn’t take long for everyone to disperse and begin their last task of the day. 

Hyojin and Seungjun, as the more experienced adventurers, took the liberty of charting a course for their journey. Though, they couldn’t seem to agree on the best way to go, leading to a constant bickering from the general direction of the tree stump they were using as a table. Changyoon decided to form the elementally charged crystals into catalysts, taking lengths of twine and fashioning them into what looked like chunky bracelets. Bracelets with terrifyingly potent magical concentration, but chunky jewellery nonetheless. 

That left only Minkyun and Yuto. Yuto decided on weapon maintenance, settling down next to the fire with Laun’s head on his lap as he cleaned blades and rolled up new strings for bows. Minkyun seated himself next to the pile of dragon scales that Seungjun had amassed earlier, armed with a whittling knife and a needle and thread. Yuto watched him curiously as he arranged the scales by size, and then laid them out in some sort of pattern. His bemused smile melted into concern as Minkyun took the knife to one of the scales, clumsily pinching the blade towards his thumb. 

“Stop, stop!” Yuto said as he rushed over to take the knife away, “You’ll cut your thumb off like that. Here, look-”

 _‘Just give it to me, I’ll do it. There’s no point in even trying if you’re only going to mess it up.’_ He started to say, but the second the words even crossed his mind the key began to burn against his chest, emitting a faint blue glow. He hissed in pain, doubling over and turning away from Minkyun, where he found himself facing Hyojin and Seungjun. They hadn’t noticed him at all, too busy bickering over something or other, Yuto didn’t think it was really about the map anymore. But as he looked at them, the burning of the key narrowing his focus, he saw something beyond the bickering. 

Yuto saw their argument fizzle, and dissolve into laughter. He saw that every little spat resulted in a compromise, in another line drawn on the map, a step in the right direction. He saw how each always had the perfect comeback to the other, as though they already knew what would be said before the other got a chance to get it out. He saw them functioning as two halves of a whole, perfectly and completely _together_. The burning feeling on his chest subsided, and he picked himself up and turned back to Minkyun, who seemed not to have noticed anything at all. In fact, if Yuto didn’t know better he’d say it was as though time had stopped momentarily or something. But Yuto did know better, and that was impossible.

“Here, look, Let me help you,” He tried, and the key seemed to vibrate in approval for a second. “If you hold it like this it’s way safer, and you’ll actually get a shape closer to what you want…”

He continued giving Minkyun advice, sitting down next to him to help him with his project. Seungjun glanced over, nudging Hyojin with his elbow when he noticed how close together they were sitting. 

“Look at them, working together like that,” He cooed, only half sarcastically.

“I know… it’s actually kind of sweet,” Hyojin responded with a soft laugh. They shared a knowing smile before returning to their work, and Yuto was none the wiser to their little comments. 

Minkyun eventually got the hang of it; and, after plenty of reassurance that he didn’t need any more help, Yuto was left searching for other places he could be of use. He found himself assisting Changyoon next, crushing the larger crystal chunks into more manageably sized pieces. He offered to heat the wire that was being used to pierce holes in the crystals over the fire, but it turned out Changyoon had checked his books and found a way to channel all of the heat from his fire spell into his fingertips. The concentrated heat made the wire burn red hot in a matter of seconds, and they both figured it was probably more efficient that way. Jaeyoung soon returned and busied himself with tidying up, readying for the night shifts. Yuto joined him in silence, neither interfering with the other, keeping their distance but working as a team nonetheless. 

The camp was all but spotless when Minkyun jumped up from his seat, holding a bundle of sewn together scales in his arms.  
“There! Look, Yuto, I told you I got it!” He laughed as he unfurled his creation for the group to see. The lights of dusk reflected off the beautiful dragonscale cape, creating the illusion of it sparkling and shimmering in the last rays of sunlight. Beautiful really was the only way to describe it, with Minkyun’s natural clumsiness somehow not affecting the craftsmanship in any way. There wasn’t a chink to be found in this armoured cloak, perfectly crafted from the loose hood, to the golden clasp in the shape of a tulip tree leaf, all the way to the hem that hovered just above the floor when Minkyun put it on to show it off. 

Everyone crowded round to admire the work, and even Jaeyoung spared a compliment for a job well done. 

“That looks great Kyun, it really does,” Seungjun smiled, running a hand over the scales as he admired the druid’s work. 

“I’d say we’re about done with our map too,” Hyojin went and fetched the map, unscrolling it to reveal a neatly marked path across the continent, with particular areas of interest circled. 

“I still think we should make a stop in Dòchmor.” 

“That’s like a week out of our way, we are not taking that long of a detour just so you can reforge that old blade. You have Vell now, you don’t need it.”

“That’s not why I want to go there and you know it.”

“I _said_ we don’t. Need. It.” Hyojin hissed quietly, pretending his stage whisper actually prevented the others from hearing anything.

“No, _you_ don’t need it. You just think that if we stopped there we’d never leave. It’s ridiculous, as always—” Seungjun shot back.

“I think I’m almost done too,” Changyoon interjected, sensing that this was far deeper than lighthearted bickering. 

Minkyun took the cue, draping his new cape over a log and fetching one of Changyoon’s thick spellbooks from their tent. 

“Why don’t we try something out, see how well they work?” He suggested as he handed the book to Changyoon, sifting through the pile of bracelets to see what kind of power enhancements were on offer. He called everyone else over, and they all crowded around the tome to see what spell Changyoon would pick. 

The wizard flicked through the pages, idly scanning each one as though he didn’t know almost every word off by heart. He settled on a page with an illustration of a cracked mirror, and several spells listed next to it, each with their own set of scrawled notes. 

“Oh! Seungjun, come here, I have this simple transmutation spell, we might be able to do something about that green hair problem of yours,” He beckoned for Seungjun to come and sit next to him. 

Seungjun, who had been idling a little further away from the group and sulking after his little spat with Hyojin, lit up at this suggestion. He practically ran to sit down next to Changyoon, tripping over his feet in his rush to get there. 

“Gods yes, let's do it, this magic shit is so cool,” He gushed, excited just to see real magic again. Sure, Hyojin had learnt a few sleight of hand parlour tricks over the years, putting his deft hands to good use; but Seungjun had seen them all so many times he knew exactly how they worked. This was in another league entirely, and Seungjun was anxious to experience this new world of magic. 

“Okay then, you sit still and we’ll see what we can do,” Changyoon hummed, picking up two bracelets and slipping them onto his wrist. Jaeyoung held out a cleaned bowl, which Changyoon took with a nod of thanks. Faint tendrils of green smoke began to rise from the bracelets as Changyoon concentrated, pulling moisture from the air to fill the bowl with water. Seungjun looked on in curiosity, watching as the bowl filled to the brim. 

“So what happens now?” He asked. His question was promptly answered as Changyoon silently dumped the water over his head. 

“Hey! What the fuck was that?” He yelled, spluttering as half the water found its way into his mouth. But Changyoon didn’t answer, already refilling the bowl as Yuto and Hyojin snickered together, doing their best not to point and laugh. 

This time as the bowl was nearly full Changyoon dipped his fingertips into it, turning the water a toxic looking green. He held the bowl over the fire, reading out the incantation from the book as the liquid simmered. 

“You’re not gonna pour that over my head again are y—” Seungjun interrupted, cutting himself off when he received harsh glares from everyone else but Changyoon, who was too busy concentrating to lecture him. Even Laun seemed to be giving him the stink eye. 

_Oh come on, like the cat’s better than me. You wouldn’t want to get wet either_. Seungjun thought to himself, rolling his eyes.  
Changyoon completed his incantation and examined the water for a second, before shrugging and pouring it over Seungjun’s head once again. He was expecting it this time, though he definitely wasn’t any happier about it. Everyone leaned in, eyes sparkling in anticipation as Changyoon concentrated warmth in his hands once again to dry Seungjun’s hair. Excited smiles soon turned to confused grimaces, and to say Seungjun was freaked out would be an understatement. 

“What? What is it? Did something go wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?” He asked, worry creeping into his voice. 

“No, no, nothing’s wrong, it’s just…” Minkyun trailed off, avoiding eye contact.

“It’s just what? Tell me, I can’t see!”

“Well it’s just… it’s not really blonde. It kinda went black…”

“But we can fix it!” Changyoon rushed to placate Seungjun as he saw his expression grow darker, “I just need a little more power. Hyojin, can you just pass me up one of those bracelets please?”

Hyojin nodded and picked up the first bracelet that caught his eye, which happened to be vibrant red. He tossed it over to Changyoon, who caught it and slipped it onto his wrist in one deft movement. As he did so, the parts of Seungjun’s hair that were still dripping with water began to turn the same bright red as the crystalline bracelet. The group found themselves unable to tear their eyes away from the phenomenon, equally enthralled and confused by the sheer magnitude of Changyoon’s fuck-up. It was only as Seungjun caught sight of the red parts of his reflection in Jaeyoung’s axe and yanked the bracelets off of Changyoon’s wrist that they were spurred to action. Though, action in this case meant Changyoon and Minkyun apologising profusely while Hyojin offered sarcastic jabs that masked actual sympathy. 

Seungjun was inconsolable, though Hyojin assured everyone it was just a passing storm and he’d probably be fine by morning. They decided to let him pass on night watch duty; it only seemed fair after what had happened, and five people was more than enough anyway. He lay curled up in the tent, having fallen asleep almost immediately after laying on the bedspread. 

Hyojin had been right, Seungjun woke up the next morning having almost forgiven Changyoon for his transgressions. Almost. Nothing of particular interest happened for the remainder of their journey to the city, each day was slow and faded from memory almost as soon as it had passed. They each spent far less time on watch duty with six people taking shifts, it was more rest than Hyojin and Seungjun had allowed themselves in years. They sent a pair out to hunt each night after they ran out of dragon meat to eat, and quickly learned that sending Changyoon and Minkyun would yield only vegetables, while sending Hyojin and Seungjun together would only bring enough food for the two of them. Old habits die hard, they supposed. 

They were about 20 miles out from the city one evening, not even a full day’s walk now, and Seungjun had been sent with Changyoon to hunt. He was crouching behind a bush, listening for movements around him, when a purple tendril of smoke darted in front of his eyes. He was overwhelmed with a sickening sense of deja vu, trying to remember where he had seen things like this before. Another wisp danced close to him, before floating away a little, almost beckoning for him to follow. Seungjun obliged, and the trail of wisps led him deeper into the forest to a glade that seemed all too familiar. 

The water shone a bright, cold blue, and the grass glowed as green as the concoction Changyoon had created before. He looked across the water and, sure enough, a beautiful lady dressed in robes as blue as her skin. He caught sight of himself in the water and was filled with a bubbling kind of rage he’d never felt before. He looked well rested, more so than he had in years, and his delicate blonde hair had been changed by Changyoon’s spell. He didn’t recognise this person as being himself, but he knew this image far too well, and he hated it. 

“I am not myself. Who, no, _what_ have you made me?” He spat, wheeling round to face the lady. She did not return his anger, smiling peacefully instead.

“Only that which you were bound to become. Do you see now the futility of your efforts?” She asked. Though she commented on futility her words did not appear mocking; she spoke as though she was simply stating fact. It only made the fire in Seungjun’s chest burn brighter. 

“Futility? Is this what you wanted to tell me before, that all my choices are worth nothing?”

“In a sense, I suppose. Your fate lies ahead of you, there is nothing you can do to change it.”

“Who are you to tell me these things? To turn the idea of a destiny into something I fear and dread instead of the thing I've been searching for? Who even are you?” he asked, pain creeping into his voice. 

“I know more than you think. But you will learn, in time.” She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. He had no sharp comeback to shoot back, no words at all to return to her. Instead he drew his sword and ran towards her, tears streaming from his eyes. He didn’t know exactly what she did to invoke such a powerful emotional response, nor did he have time to wonder as the water did not form solid ground beneath his feet. It seemed dreams were only dreams and nothing more, and the lilypads did not support him as he plunged beneath the surface once more. 

It wasn’t as cold as he remembered. It wrapped around him like a warm embrace, blurring his vision and luring his heavy body ever deeper. He heard a muffled shout from above the water, and a hand reached down into the water, fingers spread as an invitation to take it. He didn’t really feel like getting out of the water this time though. It was so warm, so comforting, so… nice. He was vaguely aware of a cloaked figure diving into the water, of an arm being wrapped around his waist, of being dragged towards the bank.  
His senses returned as he broke the surface, and he clutched onto Changyoon for dear life, shivering both in fear and from the numbingly cold water. He lay on the muddy bank, gasping for breath, as Changyoon crawled out of the water and collapsed next to him. 

“I hope you’re not planning on makin’ this a habit,” Changyoon gasped, sitting up and starting to wring out his cloak. 

“How can I make a habit out of this when I’m not even sure of what ‘this’ is?” Seungjun laughed dryly, glancing around to see that the blue lady had disappeared entirely. He was trying to fix himself up as best he could when suddenly Changyoon grabbed him by the collar and pulled him uncomfortably close.

“Listen here. I have no idea what’s going on with you, but you are dealing with things you cannot possibly understand. Do not get involved with shit you can’t handle. Magic is dangerous, and without proper awareness it _will_ kill you,” He let go of Seungjun’s collar, and stepped away, acting as though he’d said nothing at all. He used a spell to warm them up and dry their clothes, erasing any evidence of what had happened. They made their way back to camp with whatever Changyoon had managed to find before; it was barely enough to feed them all, but barely was still enough. 

The trip to the city took most of the next day, and it was already evening by the time they reached the gates of Falinelle. They used a portion of their real money to purchase the finest rooms in the nearest inn, stumbling to their rooms after a few rounds of ale. Seungjun had forgotten how good it felt to sleep in a real bed. The soft sheets and downy mattress felt like clouds to sleep on, not to mention a real pillow instead of a rolled up cloak - it was heavenly. 

It took everything he had to pull himself out of bed the next morning, throwing on his clothes without looking into the mirror, knowing he couldn’t stand the face that would stare back. He knew it was still early, rays of light barely spilling over the windowsill, too early to wake the others. The others, of course, excluding Hyojin, who he already knew would be awake before he even knocked on the door. They couldn’t help but smile as they saw each other once the door swung open. 

“You look like shit,” Seungjun laughed, looking at Hyojin’s messy bedhead and sleepy eyes. 

“You’re lookin’ just as pretty yourself,” Hyojin retorted, rolling his eyes with a soft smile. 

“We both know you’re the pretty one,” Seungjun teased, “C’mon, let’s go wash up before everyone else comes looking for us.”

They made their way to the end of the hall to the washrooms, taking turns to pump hot water for the other’s shower. It wasn’t anything special, just hot water and soap in the end. But soap - gods, _soap_. Seungjun had never been more thankful for just a simple bar of soap. As the grime of battle and adventure was washed away he felt all the stress of the past couple of weeks wash away with it. He finally felt clean, but more than that he felt cleansed, all of the thick traces of magic scrubbed away to leave him feeling free again. 

The two got themselves dressed properly and went to knock on everyone else’s door, leaving them to wake up and get washed up themselves. In the meantime they traipsed downstairs and dropped a few silver coins on the counter to pay for breakfast, finalising the details of their plan as they waited for their food. 

Hyojin’s eyes widened as the plates were set down in front of them, abandoning their conversation to dig in. Everyone else arrived when Hyojin was about halfway done already, barely bothering with greetings as they pulled their plates close, hunger in their eyes. Bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs, and _warm bread and butter_. This really was the height of luxury. Laun even got a saucer of fresh chilled milk and a bowl of diced fish all to himself. They purchased a bottle of ale and a bottle of fine wine on their way out, thanking the owner of the inn for their hospitality. 

Their horse and cart were purchased with real money too, constituting the last purchase they’d make that day that wasn’t technically a scam. They decided on a place to meet up, and everyone was handed their cut of the cursed cash before splitting up to go buy supplies. Seungjun found it unreasonably tempting to stick his hand into the bag and just watch it all melt, but he avoided the temptation by shoving the leather pouch in his pocket. Out of sight, out of mind, after all. 

He’d been assigned to buy anything that could be found in the tanners and tailors’ district of town, the shortest walk that any of them had as far as he was aware. He browsed the market stalls and shop windows for things that looked useful, noting a set of winter cloaks, thin white cotton desert outfits, and a pair of steel bracers that could replace his old dinged up ones. There was a shop in the middle of the street that sold just regular clothes for townsfolk, and had several dresses on display in the window. It was far from what he’d been looking for, but he felt compelled to take a peek inside anyway. 

The store was largely empty, and a thin layer of dust coated everything inside. The only thing that looked remotely modern was the azure blue curtain that was drawn across the door to the back room. 

“Hello? Is anybody here?” Seungjun asked as he walked to the back, pushing the curtain aside to peer into the back room. 

Alone in the centre sat a spinstress at her wheel, the hood of her cloak hiding her face as she spun a spool of blue thread. 

“Ma’am?” Seungjun asked politely, hesitantly stepping closer, “Is the shop open? I didn’t mean to intrude, I simply thought I’d have a look around.” 

“Of course it’s open, I flipped the sign just for you Lee Seungjun.” The spinstress responded in a voice that sent a chill down Seungjun’s spine. She turned towards him as she pulled back her hood and sure enough, blue skin and blind eyes. Seungjun felt panic rise in his chest, and he scrambled towards the door in fear. 

“Wait!” She called out, holding up a hand to stop him, “I stand here before you now as an equal. I cannot do anything but hope you will listen, no magic involved, and no deals.”

Seungjun paused, hearing how earnest she sounded. He felt a pang of desperation in her voice as well, and it invoked a sense of pity in him. 

“Alright then. What do you have to say?” He conceded, sitting down on the dusty floor. 

“I apologise for the changes I’ve brought to your life, but it was a necessary evil. A new look is never just skin deep. That’s no magical saying either, just the knowledge of a common spinstress.”

“So you somehow messed up Changyoon’s spell? It wasn’t me that ruined it?”

“ As I was saying… now that you have been stripped of the superficial identity you so desperately clung to, you can - no, you must begin anew. Only with the clarity of a clean slate can you find your place in this world, and lead others to their own purposes alongside you.” 

“You know that all sounds like bullshit to me, right?” Seungjun cocked his head to the side, scoffing at the blind woman’s words. She nodded in response. 

“Be that as it may, I speak only the truth.” She smiled kindly, and for the first time it felt human, and Seungjun felt he had nothing to be scared of. 

“My own belief aside, I’ll heed your advice this time. Take this as a fresh start, a chance to do some good, right?” He asked, checking if he’d gotten the general gist of what she was telling him, “Will that be all for now?”

“There is one last thing. A gift, to aid you on your travels,” She stopped the spinning wheel for the first time since he’d entered the shop, standing from her stool to retrieve something from a cabinet in the corner. Seungjun’s eyes glimmered in amazement as he saw the gift she presented him with. 

A pair of ornate silver bracers that emitted a faint blue glow as he tried them on. They seemed to fit perfectly, like they had been made just for him. Well, he supposed they had been made just for him. But they just felt right, like no other piece of armour ever had. The closest feeling he could relate it to was the way the hilt of Vell felt in his hand, perfectly balanced, and perfectly weighted; so perfect that you could hardly tell they were there on a good day. 

“Thank you, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay this,” He gasped, looking up at the spinstress. 

“The only repayment I need is for you to finish your quest and see these put to good use,” She waved a hand dismissively, “Now hurry, you have some shopping to do if you’re to catch your cart out of here.”

“Oh, right,” Seungjun mumbled in realisation as she shooed him towards the door. He called out in thanks again as he ran out into the road, returning to the stalls he’d passed earlier to purchase the clothes for more extreme weathers. 

The actual transaction was simple enough, he selected what he wanted and threw the bag of cursed money on the counter as he started to walk away. The weight of the bag and appearance of the gold coins inside gave him a little time to walk away as calmly as possible, pretending nothing was wrong. The calm was short-lived, though, as the vendor soon touched a coin only to find it melted away in her hands. 

“Hey!” She yelled after him as he broke into a sprint, “Stop! Thief!” 

He ran as fast as he could, tuning out the yells and footsteps that followed him, focusing only on getting back to the cart. Everyone else was getting back at around the same time, frantically loading their spoils onto the cart as angry villagers started to close in behind them. 

“Go, go go!” Hyojin shouted, directing everyone to jump into the cart as he spurred the horse to move. He ran alongside the cart as it moved, and Seungjun reached out an arm to pull him in. He raised his other arm in defence instinctively as a pitchfork swung towards him, clashing with the new metal bracer on his arm. The armour glowed blue as the metal clashed, and instead of creating a spark it created an ember, which fell into a dry bale of hay by the gate. 

The hay bale burst into flame, and it took little more than a second for the raging blaze to start spreading. The group looked back in shock as they watched the village burn behind them, riding away faster than the consequences of their actions could run to catch up with them. 

“They’ll be fine… it’ll be taken care of…” Seungjun mumbled once they were far enough away that Falinelle had disappeared beyond the horizon, trying to convince himself more than anyone else. 

“I hate to say it but you’re right… we can’t think about going back to help them anyway, they’d skin us alive,” Hyojin pointed out.

“Besides, we can’t waste any time looking back,” Changyoon spread a map across the wall of the cart, pinning it into the wood. “At least not where we’re going,” He pointed to the first point marked on their map. 

“So… to the Diffaith Plains it is…” Hyojin concluded, and a somber silence fell over the group as they rode on to their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I know it's been months but I'm finally back with the next installment of this shitshow- I promise the adventure really begins in the next chapter if it seems like it hasn't already. It might be a bit redundant but I HAD to find some way to include skunkjoon both for the sake of staying current and cause it looks good asf. 
> 
> Many thanks to Megan for being the reason this is actually being continued at all ilysm <3
> 
> I suppose this is the point where I plug my social media, so you can follow me on twitter @/gaylittleyoon for lots of rambling about writing, probably little excerpts of whatever I'm currently writing, and the occasional good tweet- 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed this, it feeds my ego- and also my will to create more ^,^
> 
> And with that I'll see you all in the next chapter- also naming places is hard and I've got a LOT of places to name for this fic help-


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